Mail-bag catcher and deliverer



No. 625,0l6. Patented May l6, I899.

1 S. E. BBESLANU.

MAIL BAG CATGHER AND nzuvznzn.

(Application filed Mar. 13, 1899.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR TTORNEY.

7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. Y

SYLVESTER E. BRESLAND, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

MAIL-BAG CATCl -IER AND'DELIVERER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,016, dated May 16, 1899. Application filed March 13, 1899. Serial No. 708,827. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SYLVESTER E. Bens- LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Worth, Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers and Deliverers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for holding mail-bags in convenient positions from the sides of moving railway-trains so that the bags will be caught by hooks mounted at stations by the side of railway-tracks and for catching mail-bags suspended by the tracks and also to devices mounted by the railwaytracks for holding mail-bags to be delivered to moving trains and for catching mail-bags from the trains; and the object is to construct simple, strong, and durable devices for the purposes above named which will be cheap to construct and practical in use.

Other objects will be fully explained in the following description and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 illustrates part of a railway postal car in side elevation with my improvements attached to the car. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the devices shown in Fig. 1, the upper bracket for holding the upright standard being removed. Fig. 3 is a view of a spring-catch for receiving the arm which bears the hook on the train. Fig. 4 is a view of the upright pieces and arms, looking in the direction of the railway-tracks. Fig. 5 is a view of the delivering and receiving devices mounted by the side of the railway-track. Fig. 6 is an end view of one of the hook-bearing arms. Fig. 7 is a plan of a buffer.

Similar characters of referenceare used to indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings the letter A indicates a car having a door B. An upright 1 is mounted in a socket or ink 2 and held in an upright position by a bracket 3, the brackets 3 and the sockets 2 being stationary on the car, the top of the upright 1 being made small, so it will pass loosely up in the bracket 3, so that the lower end of the upright can be inserted in the socket. An arm 4, having a square end 5, is mounted in a socket 6 in upright 1. Formed on the arm 4 is a hook 7 for catching bags. Means are provided for suspending bags to be delivered. Spring or tension arms 8 are attached to the back of the hook 7 by brazing orotherwise, and an arm 9 is pivotally connected to a lug 10 on the upright 1 and is provided with a tension-arm. 11. The bag is suspended as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 4, the loop on one end of the bag engaging the upper one of hooks 8 and the loop on the other end of the bag engaging the arm 11. A spring 12, attached to upright 1, presses the arm 9 down, and thus the bag is held in tension. The arm 4 is reversible. The arm can be taken out and turned over, so that the hook 7 will point in the opposite direction, as shown in Fig. 2. 11 is pivotally mounted in arm 9 and maybe turned in a horizontal directiomfand also for this reason two tension-arms 8 are provided. When the hook is pointing in one direction, one of the hooks 8 is used, and when the hook is turned over the other arm 8 is used to engage the mail-bag. Means are provided for holding the arm at at right angles to the moving train. A lug 13 is formed on upright 1 near the bottom. A spiral spring 14 is attached to this lug andto-the side of the car under the car-door at 15. This spring tends to hold the arm 1 near-the car-door and would do so if not prevented by a brace 16. This brace rests in a notch in the'side of a car and in a notch cut in the arm 4 just at the point at which the hook 7 begins. When not in use, this brace 16 is suspended on the side of a car by means of a small chain 17. When a bag is caught in the hook 7, the shock will force the arm slightly back and release the brace 16, which will drop down by the side of the the lug 13 and is attached to the car by means of a screw 21 or by some other convenient means. When the bag is caught in the hook,

For this reason tension-arm the shock caused thereby will make the lug 13 swing back against the buffer. The rebound from the buffer and the spiral spring 14 will throw the arm 4 promptly forward and around in front of the car-door.

It will be observed that the upright, with all the arms, can be taken out and inserted on either side of the car-door at any time, only the sockets, brackets, braces, and buffers being stationary. The latter elements are not expensive, and a set of the same may be mounted on each side of the car-door on one side of the car and a set mounted-on each side of the car-door on the. other side of the car, so that the upright, with its arms, will be adjustable for use at a station on either side of the railway-track and in either direction the car may be going.

The devices mounted by the side of the railway-track are similar to those mounted on the side of the car. A post E is mounted near the track, and the devices are mounted on this post. Being stationary, the mail-bag Will not require as much tension as the bag suspended ing the various parts of the invention without on the car. The upright 22 is mounted in a socket 23. The post E is provided with arms F and G. An arm 24 is formed integral with the upright 22 and is provided with a tensionarm 25, on which the bag is suspended. This tension-arm is pivotally mounted in the end of the arm 24 and may be swung in a hori Zontal direction in front or behind the arm 24. An arm 26, bearing a hook 27 exactly like arm 4and hook 7, is mounted in the upright 22 by means of a socket 28. The arm 26 has a square end portion 29 similar to the end portion 5 of arm 4 and is held in the upright by means of a key or pin 30. The upright is held in place by means of the bracket 31; The hook 27 is provided with tensionarms 32 similar to the tension-hooks 8 and for a similar use, two being provided, so that when hook 27 is reversed there will always be an arm ready. The arm 26 is held at right angles to the track by means of a brace 33, just as arm 4 is held at right angles to the car. The brace 33 is provided with a chain 34, which is attached to the brace and to the arm G on the post E. The brace rests in a notch in the arm G and in a notch in the arm 26. The brace is held in these notches by means of a spiral spring 35, which is attached to the lug 37 and to a hook 36, mounted on arm F. A rubber buffer 38 aids the spring in throwing the arm 26 back against the arm G. This buffer is reversible and is held in place by the upright and by means ola bracket 4 39, which is attached to post E. WVhen the hook 27 is reversed, the butter must also be reversed. When the bag strikes the hook, the lug 37 will be thrown against the buffer 38, the buffer relieving the shock and the rebound from the buffer aiding the spring 35 in throwing the bag to one side of the post.

Various changes may be madein constructdeparting from the intent of the invention. 7

The braces 16, with the chains 17, may be detachable and moved whenever the upright and arm are moved,

Having fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A mail bag catching and delivering device consisting of an upright standard, a socket and a bracket attached to the side of a car for holding the upright standard in place, an arm having a hook formed thereon mounted in a socket in said upright, a key for holding said arm in said upright, a spiral spring and a bu ft'er for operating said arm and upright, a brace for holding said arm at right angles to the car, a lug formed on said upright, said spring being attached to said lug and to the side of the car and said bufier being placed behind said lug, tension-arms attached to said hook for suspending a bag, a spring-pressed arm pivotally connected to said upright standard, a tension-arm mounted in said spring pressed arm for engaging the lower end of the bag, and means for holding a bag by the side of a railway-track and for catching a bag suspended from a car.

2. A railway mail-bag catching and deliv ering device consisting of uprights, one pivotally mounted on the side of a car and the other mounted near the side of a railwaytrack, each upright having a reversible arm provided with a hook for catching bags, keys for holding said arms in said uprights, a lug formed integral with the lower end of each upright, spiral springs and rubber buffers for operating said uprights, and arms mounted on each upright for suspendingabag, one bag to be delivered to the hook on the car and one bag to be delivered to the hook by the side of the railway-track.

3. A railway mail-bag catching and delivering device consisting of an upright standard mounted on the side of a car, a socket and a bracket for holding the upright standard in place, an arm having a hook integral therewith mounted in said standard, means for holding said arm at right angles to the car consisting of a brace set against said arm and against the side of the car, means for suspending a bag from said hook, and means for operating said upright with said arm consisting of a lug formed integral with said upright standard, a spiral spring attached to said lug and to the side of the car and a buffer placed behind said lug.

4. A mail-bag catching and delivering de vice adapted to be placed on either side of a car and on either side of a car-door consisting of an upright standard having a socket therein, a bracket and a socket or ink for holding the standard in place, a reversible arm mounted in said upright, a hook formed integral with said arm, tension-arms formed on the back of said hook, an arm pivotally connected to said standard, a spring attached to said standard adapted to press said pivoted arm ing of a rubber butter attached to the car addown when a bag is suspended on said tenjacent said lug.

sion-arms, and means for holding said arms In testimony whereof I have set my hand,

at right angles to a car consisting of a brace in the presence of two Witnesses, this 8th day 5 set against said hook-bearingarm and against of March, 1899.

the side of the car, a 111g formed on the upright standard near the bottom, and a spiral spring attached to said lug and to the side of the Witnesses:

car, and meansforaidingsaid springinthrow- A. L. JACKSON, :0 ing the hook in front of the car-door consist- JAMES GILFoRD BROWNING.

s. E. BREsLAND. 

